Benen Posted June 10, 2017 Posted June 10, 2017 Hi all, I've been a member here for some years but have not posted a lot. I have wanted to build some speakers for a long time and finally got started yesterday with my limited wood work skills. I have purchased the driver and crossover kit for the project and have begun work on the cabinets whilst waiting for their arrival. I cut up 19mm MDF with a track saw into the individual panels with 45° cuts to hide the end grain. I then used a router to create a 5mm recess at the rear of each panel to allow me to press in the rear panel and ensure it will be invisible from the sides of the speakers. I have also used biscuits to assist in aligning the miter joins and prevent them from slipping when clamping them together. Next on the list is to create the two braces for each cabinet and route the circles it them and commence work on the front baffle. 8
Sub Sonic Posted June 10, 2017 Posted June 10, 2017 Nice work, I always love seeing DIY builds :-) Regards, SS
Benen Posted June 10, 2017 Author Posted June 10, 2017 Thanks Sub Sonic. I'm quite happy with the accuracy of the work so far. I'm still unsure exactly how I will try to finish the MDF. I've read that a lot of coats of paint with successively finer grit sanding can give a great result. I'm unsure of colour though. They are to be surround speakers for my home theater. Eventually I will replace my front speakers with a DIY project. They will probably be mounted hanging from the ceiling as I have already run the wires through the roof space and down to the amplifier. 2
Upfront Posted June 10, 2017 Posted June 10, 2017 Nice joints mate. I love a good bit of woodwork! For those of us unfamiliar with the kit, can you tell us a little more about it? Thanks for posting by the way!
Benen Posted June 10, 2017 Author Posted June 10, 2017 It's a 6+1 design with a stepped front baffle to align the two coils and LR2 filter. The drivers are both entry level Scanspeak, around $300 worth for all 4. The cost for the kit and delivery is around $700 from Jantzen Audio Denmark. It comes with drivers, all crossover components, binding posts, dampening material etc. There are a few options with the kit for capacitor class and tweeter options. There is not much cost between them so I went with the best option. Total cost should be around $800 by the time I buy bits and pieces and get a nice finish on the cabinets. 1
Benen Posted June 12, 2017 Author Posted June 12, 2017 I started gluing the sides last night. I wish I had more clamps! I only have 5 which isn't quite enough so I'll grab s couple more tomorrow to finish up. I'll turn need to build s circle jig for the router fly the driver and port holes. I have a jig that came with god router but it will only go down to around s 200mm hole.
Upfront Posted June 12, 2017 Posted June 12, 2017 I started gluing the sides last night. I wish I had more clamps! I only have 5 which isn't quite enough so I'll grab s couple more tomorrow to finish up. I'll turn need to build s circle jig for the router fly the driver and port holes. I have a jig that came with god router but it will only go down to around s 200mm hole. You can never have enough clamps mate!
Benen Posted June 13, 2017 Author Posted June 13, 2017 One box all clamped up and gluing. So much easier with 8 clamps! Lining up very nicely, within less than .5mm which will easily sand out when the clamps are off. The back is just resting in the rebate so that I could eyeball that it was quite square with the clamps. 4
Upfront Posted June 13, 2017 Posted June 13, 2017 One box all clamped up and gluing. So much easier with 8 clamps! Lining up very nicely, within less than .5mm which will easily sand out when the clamps are off. The back is just resting in the rebate so that I could eyeball that it was quite square with the clamps. Looking good mate! Keep the photos coming.
Benen Posted June 15, 2017 Author Posted June 15, 2017 Rear baffles are glued in ready to flush and the front baffles have been cut and roughly marked for routing. Had to keep trimming tiny slithers off of the rear baffles until they could he pressed in. Very snug fit! I will not cut any holes until I get the drivers but I need to make a circle jig first anyway, and then round the top of the outer front baffle. 3
Upfront Posted June 15, 2017 Posted June 15, 2017 Rear baffles are glued in ready to flush and the front baffles have been cut and roughly marked for routing. Had to keep trimming tiny slithers off of the rear baffles until they could he pressed in. Very snug fit! I will not cut any holes until I get the drivers but I need to make a circle jig first anyway, and then round the top of the outer front baffle. A very nice fit mate. Well done!
Benen Posted June 15, 2017 Author Posted June 15, 2017 (edited) Spent a grand total of $14.85 on parts for the circle jig. I'll attempt to make it tomorrow. Today I also started coating the exposed mdf and flushing the joins. I'll sand it tomorrow morning and probably put on another coat. Edited June 15, 2017 by Benen 1
BioBrian Posted June 15, 2017 Posted June 15, 2017 (edited) Hi Benen, good to see another of Troels' designs being built. From the other thread - I guess you've worked out by now that even with Festool you can't trust the angle markings on tools. Test cuts are always necessary, until you get joints that actually fit. My saw pivots were a bit sloppy on top of that, and it got 'improved' under warranty, but still the markings are just an approximation. I hope you haven't laminated the baffles before cutting the tweeter holes - very difficult otherwise! Same story with the driver holes when you've made your circle cutting jig - it's vital to do test holes on scrap first, to get both diameter (leave a bit for paint) and depth. Then you do the same cut on both baffles, so you don't have to re-do all the settings. With the jig - I noticed your question in the DTQWT thread - I ended up making 3 different sliders, because of the small hole - large hole requirements. If I'd got the measurements right first, it might have been possible with just one - reversible - but it's hard to get your (my) head around in the design stage. It's fun making a tool for the router, with the router. (For very large holes, there's a much simpler solution). Edited June 16, 2017 by BioBrian there was a mistake 2
Benen Posted June 15, 2017 Author Posted June 15, 2017 (edited) Hey Brian. I've been going you will chime in! Yes it dawned on me yesterday that I just need to make two different flat plates with the pivot pin at different distances to the wing nut! Did you find one wing nut sufficient or did you clamp it down to the guide with two? I considered using a 45° chamfer but to cut the miters but decided to go with the saw. You would think that a Festool saw would be more accurate! Since I'm using mdf it is not so bad but if I was using Baltic birch I would be severely disappointed. Nothing is glued down as of yet, and the two baffles are separate still. I'll start off the circles on the internal braces first up as they won't be seen and see how it all goes. I'll start saving for the DTQWT kit. Did you get hit hard with customs tax? Edited June 15, 2017 by Benen
Benen Posted June 15, 2017 Author Posted June 15, 2017 Started with the circle jig. Didn't quite get the holes in the centre of the flat bar but it shouldn't matter. I can't get the base plate off the router though! It requires a special driver
Upfront Posted June 16, 2017 Posted June 16, 2017 Started with the circle jig. Didn't quite get the holes in the centre of the flat bar but it shouldn't matter. I can't get the base plate off the router though! It requires a special driver [emoji20] The big green shop sells all manner of drivers these days. Shouldnt be too hard to find mate.
Benen Posted June 16, 2017 Author Posted June 16, 2017 Haha true. However there are another two M6 threads in then router base that I may be able to use. My wife is picking up 2 bolts on the way home from work as its my day off and we live some distance from the nearest town. I'll give it a go soon. Apart from that it's ugly but should be functional. 1
Upfront Posted June 16, 2017 Posted June 16, 2017 Haha true. However there are another two M6 threads in then router base that I may be able to use. My wife is picking up 2 bolts on the way home from work as its my day off and we live some distance from the nearest town. I'll give it a go soon. Apart from that it's ugly but should be functional. Functionality is what counts mate!
Benen Posted June 16, 2017 Author Posted June 16, 2017 (edited) Circle jig finished. Should be able to cut holes down to around 40mm diameter. I'm glad I had a meter of flat bar as it took a few goes to get the holes correct. Mounting it just using two m6 bolts into the base of the router seems solid as a rock so it should be nice and accurate. Edited June 16, 2017 by Benen 2
BioBrian Posted June 16, 2017 Posted June 16, 2017 Hi Benen, I replied this morning, but couldn't post due to the site upgrade. I've had to scrub most of my suggestions, as you appear to have read my mind! Jig looks the goods - lucky to find the bolt holes all ready. The Festy track saw is deadly accurate - it's just that the angle markings are just a guide. I don't know of any other saw, where you can do a cut and not have to sand or anything before gluing! Small diameter and thick blade - I think that's the secret. I think I might have got lucky; I don't remember duties charged on the kit (back in 2012). But I hear we will have to pay GST PLUS Customs from 1st of July. My question is whether to do this on now, on bank-card at 15% interest, or just wait and pay the taxes... And maybe the Euro exchange rate might improve a bit more... I did well buying some stuff from UK in January.
fast_eddie_d Posted June 16, 2017 Posted June 16, 2017 Hi BenenDefinitely consider the DTQWT if Troels house sound works for you.Re GST/custom charges my DTQWT Mk 2 kit shipped was E1,375 in 2014 (AUD$2k at current FX).FedEx the shipper handled the import paperwork, customs/import duty was $63 and GST was $130 plus their fees which I thought was reasonable. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Benen Posted June 16, 2017 Author Posted June 16, 2017 Ah really? That seems very cheap. I've imported over $1000 before and paid a significant fee! I don't see myself getting the kit before the end of the month unfortunately, Brian. I hope you're not right about increases fees
Benen Posted June 17, 2017 Author Posted June 17, 2017 (edited) Just 4 small holes in the centre of each to go. Edited June 17, 2017 by Benen 1
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